Western schools reopen as rehab work continues

WESTERN BUREAU:

Schools across western Jamaica reopened on Monday for the 2026-2027 academic year despite some still needing extensive repairs to restore their hurricane-ravaged compounds.

Dr Lavern Stewart, the newly installed principal at Herbert Morrison Technical High School in Montego Bay, St James, told The Gleaner that a special effort was made to ensure that the school would be ready on Monday.

Having been heavily impacted by Hurricane Melissa last October, 18 of its classrooms and its canteen and tuck shop are still undergoing repairs.

“We are in a good place, although we had some challenges last week because the work was not moving as fast as we would have wanted,” she said. “We had a massive garbage pile-up and we still had some rooms that were not ready. However, within the first few days of me taking office, I had to put some level of alacrity into the whole thing, and we were here up until about 8:00 last night (Sunday), making sure that everything was ready for the students.”

Across the city, Michael Ellis, the principal of Cornwall College, said the first day of the school’s orientation week got off to a good start, despite at least six classrooms for the senior students still needing repairs.

“We have some challenges, but the truth is that everybody is positive and highly motivated, given the challenges that we have, to ensure that we meet our goals and objectives. I felt good when I looked at the boys, who were eager to be back at school, and complying with the basic rules for grooming. They cannot wait for teaching and learning to commence properly,” he said.

At Bethel Primary in neighbouring Hanover, special accommodation was made for grade-one intake as work is still taking place on the roof of their block, which was extensively damaged during the hurricane.

One parent raised concerns about potential noise disruptions and the dangers posed by discarded material on the school compound. However, the administration said there are plans to have work areas fenced off.

The police were out in large numbers across Hanover to ensure the orderly movement of the students, as reports had indicated that public passenger vehicle operators were planning to be disruptive.

Meanwhile, the Trelawny-based Muschett High School reported successful morning and afternoon shifts despite three laboratories and some teachers’ cottages still to be restored.

“The start to the new academic year at our school has been without any major incident or accident. We had our fair share of first-day glitches, but the morning-shift students were here on time for the most part, our teachers were in place, and school is on in earnest,” Principal Leighton Johnson told The Gleaner.

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